Anyway did your predictions “all over the web� before the war include this?

“Young black males have a greater chance of being murdered in Philadelphia than a US soldier has of getting killed in the Iraq!”

But that has no relevance to Iraq

Philadelphia is part of the US so we have an obligation to endure whatever costs are associated with straightening it out. We are, as it were, stuck with Philadelphia. We are not stuck with Iraq. We gave the Iraqi people the opportunity (at HUGE costs to ourselves) to have a peaceful, prosperous democracy – but they would clearly rather blow each other up and we should leave them to do so in peace.

I would also suggest that if we put ANYTHING CLOSE to the resources we’ve put into Iraq into Philadelphia we would have cleaned up that place long ago.

You comments are a total nonsequitur. The bottom line is this: Bush and Co. told us what we were getting into before the invasion and they lied. They have no credible plan to deal with this. This car is a lemon sold to us by a lying car salesman and we should dump it by the side of the road.

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/08/philadelphia-quagmire-story.html

Anyway did your predictions “all over the web” before the war include this?

“Young black males have a greater chance of being murdered in Philadelphia than a US soldier has of getting killed in the Iraq!

From the Washington Post:

The death rate for African American men ages 20 to 34 in Philadelphia was 4.37 per 1,000 in 2002, 11 percent higher than among troops in Iraq. Slightly more than half the Philadelphia deaths were homicides.

Murtha (WD – or plnelson or Chirs) has yet to call for a Cut and Run from Philly.”

plnelson – maybe this is what the Lt Col was talking about when he said that these soldiers were have first hand knowledge of while individuals like you would reamain ignorant of?

Here are the facts that these guys will know

“US military fatalities are down in the first 7 months of 2006 (average of 57 per month) compared to last 7 months of 2005 (average of 73 per month). This is easily confirmed by going here (see link on blog below)”

“The number of US fatalities from IEDs is down in the first 7 months of 2006 (average of 32 per month) compared to last 7 months of 2005 (average of 42 per month), this despite the fact that more IEDs are being placed (incompetently, perhaps). This is easily confirmed by going here (see link on blog below)”

“Iraqi military and police casualties are down in the first 7 months of 2006 (average of 177 per month) compared to last 7 months of 2005 (average of 243 per month). Again, you can confirm this yourself by going here (see link on blog below)”

“The number of US wounded is down in the first 7 months of 2006 (average of 425 per month) compared to last 7 months of 2005 (average of 499 per month). This is easily confirmed by going here (see link on blog below)”

” Back Talk adds:

I am surprised that the New York Times (WD – and plnelson) cannot even be trusted to consult readily available data that can be easily examined to evaluate their judgment of the strength of the insurgency.

Ouch!… and yet, so true!”

WD – Back to you mr plnelson.

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/08/honest-look-at-security-situation-in.html

“Military Stryker vehicles saturating Baghdad’s most dangerous neighborhoods have been credited with what Iraqi authorities say is a 30 percent drop in violence in the city since the deployment of 5,000 additional U.S. troops to the region,” ABC News reports from the Iraqi capital:

While U.S. figures show a 22 percent drop in violence, either way, its good news for the troops.

“It’s been great. We get a lot of smiles and waves,” said Lt. Patrick Paterson of the 114th Cavalry.

One of the most dramatic changes has occurred in the Dora neighborhood. In July up to 20 people were killed in the area every day. As part of this new military effort, U.S. and Iraqi troops have been searching thousands of buildings in an effort to stop car bombs. . . .

And there are signs it’s working. During 14 days of patrols in Dora, there has been just one killing.

We look forward to hearing Rep. John Murtha, the Democrats’ leading military strategist, explain how this could be better done from Okinawa.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/IraqCoverage/story?id=2344042

WSD – And I bet Congressman Murtha will call the world renowned miltiary strategist, hell all-around strategist and thinker, plnelson to testify.

You are self paraody.

Germany didn’t have it’s first democratic election until almost 5 years after the end of WWII – Iaq had 3 in less than 3 years. These facts are well known by the US military that made them possible.

S Korea was a military dictatorship until 1988. Now it’s the world’s 10th largest economies with a society that most of Asia wishes that they had.

But a genious like you would have argued, during all of these periods of thier history, that it was a quagmire, that the resources and loss of life had to be justified etc etc.

You are who the Lt Col was talking about and he didn’t have to list all of the facts because he, and many others know them.

Why don’t you ridiculously argue, once again, about how the US lost the ground war in Vietnam while you also try to explain why you think that this is a quagmire? You know why you won’t? Because you would look as stupid in the second argument as you did while making the first.

That is what LT Col White was talking about when he referred to YOU, I say this again YOU as the one with a “head . . . full of empty theories�

You write a lot but say little.

Again, this is just empty rhetoric if he doesn’t back up those slogans with hard data.

The bottom line is that this military that was supposedly in grasp of th “facts” FAILED to predict this quagmire. NO ONE in the military publically indicated at the beginning of the invasion that years later we’d still be stuck in a mess like the one we have now, trying to keep order in a broken, violent, anarchic society teetering on the verge of civil war (if not already in one).

But **I** predicted it, very publically, all over the ‘Net. So let’s compare track records before we talk about who has a better grasp of the facts.

Since the Administration predicated their whole invasion on stopping the deaths of civilians and restoring Iraq as a siocially and economically funtioning society, I think the facts I cited are the exactly relevant ones.

As I said above, if you think you can cite objective reasons to think this thing is working and that if we stay the course it will soon start to get better, feel free to do so.

As I said, we are being asked to pay for this in objectively real lives and money, so the Administration is obligated to justify it with objectively real data showing some light at the end of the tunnel.